One day after their season ended in a sweep against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and head coach JJ Redick made one thing clear during Tuesday's end-of-season interview:
Building a championship roster around Luka Dončić.
Pelinka described the offseason as a “deconstruction” process where the organization will evaluate everything from roster fit to infrastructure improvements after a season filled with injuries, lineup changes and shifting roles.
“There’s a lot to be proud of,” Pelinka said. “But certainly nothing that we’re satisfied about. This is a market with championship expectations.”
Even after back-to-back 50-win seasons, Pelinka acknowledged the Lakers still need to improve their depth, athleticism and the overall roster to compete with the best teams in the NBA.
“I think if you look around the playoffs right now, depth is really important,” Pelinka said. “Athleticism and youth... we have a lot of components of that on our roster, but we need to add to it.”
Redick echoed that sentiment, saying one of the biggest lessons from the postseason was how valuable roster depth has become across the NBA.
“You look at OKC’s roster, you look at San Antonio’s roster, those guys have 13 high-level rotation players minimum,” Redick said. “That’s a luxury to have in the NBA.”
Pelinka and Redick pointed to the Lakers’ 16-2 stretch late in the regular season as proof that the core trio can work together at a high level.
“All three of those guys showed a lot of growth this year,” Redick said. “LeBron volunteering to accept a different role in year 23... that is incredible growth.”
Redick also defended Dončić’s conditioning and leadership after a season filled with outside scrutiny.
“A lot has been made about Luka’s fitness level,” Redick said. “He was great throughout the season.”
Redick said Dončić made major strides as a vocal leader and relationship-builder inside the locker room in his first full season in L.A., saying he was a “phenomenal” leader and teammate.
Pelinka made it clear the franchise’s long-term vision is centered around Dončić.
“The archetype of the roster that we want is going to be retrofitted around Luka and the things he needs,” Pelinka said. “Clearly, he’s that leader and player for the future that we want to build the right way around.”
The Lakers also emphasized organizational growth beyond the court.
Pelinka revealed the franchise is expanding its front office, hiring additional assistant general managers, and investing heavily in player development, analytics and sports science infrastructure, including a biomechanics and recovery lab.
He also pointed to the importance of developing younger players internally, citing Rui Hachimura and Adou Thiero as examples of growth within the system.
Pelinka acknowledged the challenge facing the Lakers as they try to remain contenders without rebuilding through years of losing like other young Western Conference teams.
“That’s just not the Lakers' way,” Pelinka said. “We have to find sustained excellence.”
And in Pelinka’s view, the hardest part of building a contender is already complete.
“We were able to get that transformative player in Luka,” Pelinka said. “Now it’s just a matter of putting all the other pieces around that to get to the end.”